A supportive and collaborative workplace culture can be the glue that holds an organisation together, but it’s also often one of the most vulnerable aspects of any business during times of change.

Leadership transitions, shifting priorities, and differing working styles can create uncertainty, silos, and misalignment, making it harder for teams to collaborate effectively. When values and expectations aren’t clearly defined, organisations can struggle with inconsistency in decision-making, engagement, and, ultimately, performance.

For an organisation like London Councils – representing 32 boroughs and the City of London and working across political lines – ensuring a unified set of values that were designed by their people was an essential step in their journey.

London Councils had experienced multiple changes in its executive team over a short period, which naturally led to shifts in focus, leadership styles, and ways of working. Recognising the need for a shared set of values to bring consistency, clarity, and alignment, the Senior Leadership Team engaged 4OC to help define and embed a framework that would unify their teams and set the foundation for long-term collaboration.

What we did

At the heart of this project was a commitment to co-designing a framework that truly reflected the ambitions of London Councils while respecting the unique identities of its teams. We engaged staff at all levels: strategic leaders, elected members, and operational teams through a series of carefully designed workshops, structured feedback sessions, and all-staff events.

All 130 staff members took part in shaping the values, ensuring that the final framework wasn’t just handed down from leadership, but built collectively from the ground up. The process itself became a catalyst for change, sparking honest conversations and empowering staff to take ownership of their organisation’s culture.

To make these values truly meaningful, we worked closely with London Councils to ensure they were more than just words on a page. Our team developed an actionable roadmap, integrating the values into performance development processes and day-to-day operations.

We designed a tailored feedback framework and training programme, equipping staff with the tools to embed these values into their work and hold each other accountable. Through expert facilitation, we challenged assumptions, encouraged new ways of thinking, and helped leaders navigate the complexities of cultural transformation with confidence.

The result was a fully embedded Values and Behaviours Framework that aligned seamlessly with the organisation’s strategic goals while embracing the diversity of its teams. The work went beyond policy creating a cultural shift that fundamentally reshaped the way London Councils operated. Teams not only gained a clear set of shared principles but also a common language to support collaboration, improve decision-making, and sustain the organisation’s long-term vision.

4OC's impact

The impact was immediate, but more importantly, it laid the foundation for a lasting transformation, providing London Councils with a framework that would support future changes in structure, leadership, and ways of working.

Reflecting on the partnership, London Councils’ Chief Executive, Ali Griffin, shared:

“The work 4OC did with us to develop our values and feedback culture has helped us to grow as an organisation. Surfacing our purpose and equipping us with common language to navigate challenging times. It has involved developing the skills of a wide range of colleagues so that they can champion the work within the organisation for themselves. This transfer of skills is often talked about in pitches – 4OC delivered it in practice!”

If you’d like to find out more about our work in organisational development, cultures and values, please reach out to hello@the4oc.com.

The Issue

NHS Supply Chain (SCCL) was transitioning to a new operating model, the result of a merger of five organisations into one. This presented a significant cultural shift for the resources that were tasked with leading the transition and embedding new and consistent ways of working. Senior leaders had the challenge of forming a united and functional team to lead the rest of the organisation through transformational change, while delivering an excellent customer experience, all against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SCCL had previously utilised several psychometric tools with the Executive Team (as part of the transition plan) to enable the group to understand themselves and others, as well as how they could work cohesively and productively together. While the tools offered some benefit, they felt that they did not quite hit the mark in helping the team to understand the needs of others, how they could work better together and make an even more positive impact in their role. The group were left with a feeling of ‘So What?’.

They needed a tool to help the group develop one common language and make the team more cohesive and mindful of individual working styles as they co-designed the 10 year vision and strategy for the organisation.

How did we fix it?

The 4OC team of GCologists utilised the GC Index® to identify how team members were energised in their role, team and organisation. The GC Index® (Game-Changing Index) is a People and Organisation Assessment Tool that helps individuals identify their strengths when it comes to making an impact in the workplace and is used to inform their development. Having this valuable insight enables employers and management make informed decisions in relation to roles and how to create the right environment for them to thrive.

After the Executive Team of 10 undertook their GC Index® questionnaire and one-to-one profile review sessions to delve into and validate their profile, the results of the group indicated that they had a dominant energy for original thinking and pragmatism. This was brought to bear in the energy they collectively brought to direction, purpose and focus to action (Strategist proclivity) and rapidly completing tasks with a drive to move onto the next (Implementer proclivity).

With the individual and group proclivities identified, the GC Index® allowed the Executive Team to raise self-awareness of their strengths and energy for particular ways of working and engagement with others on a day-to-day basis, to achieve strategic aims and objectives.

The 4OC Magic

The Executive Team responded well and were enthusiastic about the process of engagement with the GC Index® and with the outcomes, especially when exploring team profiles.

The group realised, through this process, that they rarely stepped back and congratulated themselves or the organisation on a job well done. There was a culture of completing a task and immediately going “next!”. The GC Index® allowed the Executive Team to reflect on this working practice and realise that as strong Implementers and Strategists, they need to make time to celebrate their achievements, rather than immediately moving on to the next issue or activity.

One of the outputs that came from using the tool was that the team recognised that collectively they were not high-scoring “Game Changers” and lacked some of the creativity that comes from the Game-Changing energy. Once they had this recognition, they became more open to ideas around evolving the business and different ways to deliver their vision of a new target operating model.

The positive changes The GC Index® has brought to the team subsequently helped them to frame the wider Senior Leadership Team’s (SLT) development programme, which we were then asked to design and deliver. A key aspiration of the programme was to work more cohesively as senior leaders, rather than as two separate groups working to the same goals.

Come back soon for the second part of this short series where we delve into the wider work that we completed with the SLT. In the meantime, if you want to hear more about the GC Index and how it works, contact Saskia at saskia.clarke@the4oc.com.